Please join us for the launch of Menq Enq Mer Sarere by Orpheus Standing Alone. The event will present the book, in the presence of co-author Anna, and the extracts of films Menq Enq Mer Sarere and The Colour of Pomegranates will be projected – films that deeply inspired the artists throughout the making of their book.

Orpheus Standing Alone is a small self-publishing house launched in 2014 by two French sisters Camille and Anna. Anna is based in London and Camille in Los Angeles.

This is their latest work, published upon the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, thus paying tribute to their Armenian roots. MENQ ENQ MER SARERE (WE ARE OUR MOUNTAINS) borrows its name from a film directed by Henrik Malian in 1969. The film epitomises how sacred mount Ararat is to Armenians, and particularly the Armenian diaspora.

Collages, photographs, poems intertwined seek a new way to think our memory – as something intrinsic and ever-lasting, a memory for which no recollection is necessary. This book hopes to lend its readers a modern and creative lens to look through and grasp glimpses of the ever so rich and powerful Armenian culture, still little known. These original and ambivalent works shine a new light onto ‘armenity’ and bring traditional references and contemporary visuals in harmony.

Constructed as an exquisite corpse, the book comprises various references and inspirations. Suddenly Magritte befriends Paradjanov, Tarkovsky mingles with Dada, Pirosmani chats to Cornell. In the course of this project, thoughts and artworks were based on the vital importance of memory – whether it be national, communal, familial, or individual. Not only revealing their identities as beings, but as artists also.

In this tremendously important year for Armenians all around the world, and in a global climate whereby matters of identity lie in the heart of all societies, we are proud to introduce Menq Enq Mer Sarere.